Oberlin College - Hi-O-Hi Yearbook (Oberlin, OH)

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CHEMICAL LABORATORY

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On leaving Japan ,l'rofessor jewett married Miss Frances Ciulick, daughter of Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick. They reached Oberlin in September, ISSO. The Chemical Department then occupied the firstfloor of Cabinet l lall. Prof. ,Kedzie had made an important beginning in the teaching of chemistry by the labor- atory method, but his early death left the department still undeveloped, the equip- ment meagre. Foundations had been laid, however, and since then the growth has been constant. linlarging courses and crowded laboratories required additional apparatus and increased space. Zoology and botany yielded the second and third floors of the building to chemistry in 1886. 'After that, Cabinet Hall was, from base to summit, a saturate solution of chemical odors. flfn 1886 Mr. M. Hall-a graduate of 1885-made his great discovery of the method of securing aluminum by electrolysis. Professor .lewett was profoundly interested in the investigation, gave encouragement as he could, and supplied help in certain emergencies,-as when more electricity was required, and multiplied new cells were improvised from pans and cans and discarded bottles. The result was the nugget of aluminum,-a joy to the discoverer, and, for M r. hlewctt. a cause ol added p1'ide in his former pupil. An outcome of his experience in teaching laboratory methids is his .l'.abora- tory Exercises in .Inorganic Chemistry. now in its second edition. His patent chemical bottle stopper is increasingly adopted by laboratories. Since his first depressing glance into Cabinet Hall on the day of his arrival from Japan, Mr. .lewett has had in mind the requirements of a model laboratory. For years his note-book has kept record of observations and experiences which might prove useful. These multiplied during i895-1896 in the laboratories of ller- lin and Charlottzenberg where he worked. They were further increased by visits to the laboratories in Bonn, Heidelberg, Munich, Leipsie, Giittingen, Zurick, Glas- gow, lidinburgh, tfambridge and London. Later the best chemical buildings of the country were examined. When, therefore, Mr. Louis H. Severance made his noble gift to the college, ,l'rofessor jewett was able to elaborate to the finest detail his thought as to the essential requirements of a building devoted strictly to chem- ical purposes. His plans, placed in the hands of the architect, Mr. Shaw, and made posssible through the generosity of M r. Severance, have resulted in the new home ofthe Chemical Department. The entlmsiasm which has given life to this depart- ment in its day of insufficient light, insufiicient room, insufficient heat, cold floors, frozen pipes and bottles, and congested fumes, is not likely to wane in the era of inspiring conditions now introduced by The Severance Chemical Laboratory. Quite aside from his professional work, the contribution made by the man himself in his character and personality, to the life and work of the college, is great and unmistakable. Faculty and students alike rejoice with lfrofessoi' .Iewett in the vastly improved conditions of the new Laboratoryg and, with peculiar satisfaction, the Junior Class dedicate to him the Annual of this year. 9

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BOOK BOOK BOOK BOOK BOOK BOOK BOOK CONTENTS. I, - Vni-versity ll, - - .fociefiex III. Organization.: and Publication.: lv, - K - - . .frfbleffw V, Honor.: and E-dent.: VI, - Literary VII, Pyevelatidni